Archbishop Murphy handles Tumwater in 2A championship game, 35-20
All Willie Garrow and the T-Birds could do was tip their caps.
They’ve reached this state championship stage three consecutive years and counting, trekking from Thurston County to Husky Stadium for the big game — only to fall just short of the mountaintop.
Defensive lineman Mason Houskeeper’s 86-yard fumble return in the fourth quarter brought Tumwater within one possession and breathed life into the visiting sideline, but No. 1 Archbishop Murphy provided plenty of counterpunches to outlast the T-Birds, 35-20, in Saturday’s 2A title game in Seattle.
“(Archbishop Murphy’s) a really, really, really good team,” head coach Garrow said, standing outside of a somber T-Birds locker room. “Our kids battled like crazy. We just needed to make one or two plays. We had a couple of chances with guys open. That’s what the game is, right? It’s up and down, momentum swings and things of that nature.
“We had a chance. That’s all you can ask for in a state championship game, to put yourself in a position to have a chance.”
Archbishop Murphy captured its first title since 2016, controlling the trenches and flashing some of the state’s premier perimeter talent. It’s a return to glory: The Wildcats went 0-8 just three years ago and rebuilt its program to among the state’s best, regardless of classification. How things can change.
“For the seniors, it means everything,” Wildcats head coach Joe Cronin said. “(Senior OL Hakeim Smalls wrote three years ago), he wrote ‘2026 champs.’ He wrote it on the board.
“Guys were like, ‘Do I stay or do I go?’ They had to believe in me. It’s a private school.
“He wrote that three years ago. Kind of a ballsy thing to write after not really winning, but, hey, no pressure.”
Wildcats WR/DB Henry Gabalis, a 6-foot-6 Arizona commit, lived through the tough times, too. From 0-8 to 13-0? He called a turnaround that dramatic “surreal.”
The state’s No. 2 recruit hauled in Saturday’s first touchdown, a 51-yard catch in stride down the right sideline on a perfect pass from QB Evan Ruiz. Gabalis beat his defender 1-on-1 and coasted home, a statement score on Murphy’s opening drive.
“When I caught that, I looked up in the stands and I saw everybody cheering,” Gabalis told The News Tribune. “It was insane.”
Wildcats RB Isaiah Smith added a 1-yard touchdown run and Murphy led, 14-0, after the first quarter.
Tumwater punched back when QB Jaxon Budd rolled to his right and found WR Wyatt Chase for a 12-yard touchdown in the corner, capping a sustained drive before halftime. Murphy led at the break, 14-7.
Smith added a 3-yard run in the third quarter and Wildcats linebacker William Wilson ballooned the lead in the fourth, scooping a T-Birds fumble and rumbling 48 yards. Murphy 28, Tumwater 7.
“I feel so bad for them because I know how much they put into it,” Garrow said. “I just wish I could’ve got them in a position where they could’ve had that. We just weren’t good enough tonight.
“I’m heartbroken for them.”
Budd found TE Evan Baxter for a 36-yard score in the fourth quarter and Houskeeper gave Tumwater life with his long fumble return — until Murphy TE Jack Sievers provided the dagger. The Wisconsin commit took a short pass 35 yards down the left sideline, pushing their lead to two possessions in the final minutes. The Wildcats could taste it.
“It means the world,” Gabalis said. “This is surreal to me. I’ve never experienced anything like this. To go from 0-8 to 13-0 is just surreal, I’ve just gotta thank God. He helped me through all the hard times in this football season.”
Smith took 16 carries for 169 yards and two touchdowns.
Tumwater RB Tyler Briscoe took 13 carries for 51 yards. Budd completed 7-of-20 passes for 82 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception on the game’s final play.
Tumwater finished as 2A’s runner-up for a third straight year, still searching for their first title since 2019.
“Nobody likes moral victories in these situations,” Garrow said. “It’s great to get to three straight state championships and I’m proud of the accomplishment, don’t get me wrong. You want so bad for them to win because you know what they’ve done and how hard they’ve worked.”
TNT sports reporter Jon Manley contributed to this story.
This story was originally published December 6, 2025 at 7:05 PM.
